The Mystery of the Stranger Who was not a Stranger
by eluvent
Summary: Lucy, who evidently possesses impossible knowledge, suddenly appears on the Tardis without a clue about her past. Will The Doctor and Lucy figure out what she's so afraid of and why she can't remember?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Doctor Who. If I did, Oprah would guest-star as a Zygon in disguise.**

Lucy stood as still as a pillar, not daring to move. She had three facts to her knowledge and nothing more. One: she was soaking wet - and _freezing_. Two: she was inside a ship called the Tardis. Three: the bewildered man before her was called The Doctor.

"Hello," he ventured, stepping forward achingly slowly.

"I...I-" Lucy stopped herself. She didn't know what to say.

"You...what?"

"I d-don't know what to say." She wiped water out of her eyes. "I-I don't remember how I got here, but I know where I am...and I know who you are."

"Uhhh...Well, this is a new one." He swung an arm around her shaking shoulders and she let him guide her down a flight of steps and down a corridor. For some reason she felt the desire to trust him. No, more than that. She _did_ trust him.

"Why don't we get you some dry clothes and have a good ol' mystery-solving chat?" He turned them into a room filled with outfits on racks. On the left wall was a shelf filled with towels, and the opposite wall had a similar shelf with a variety of hats. "Choose anything you like," he said, "except the velvet robe. Hugh Hefner gave me that robe." He shot her a silly grin and disappeared down the hallway.

 _Strange little fellow, that one,_ she thought. _I think we'll get along quite well._ She approached the racks of coordinated outfits, laughing to herself and feeling like a kid in a candy shop. Brushing her fingers across the fabrics, she soon found herself marvelling at the last outfit on the last rack. It was a red cotton sweatshirt with a black denim skirt. She glanced down, where a pair of apparently brand new black and white chucks aligned with the outfit. Crossing her fingers for luck, she bent down to check the tongue on one of the shoes. _Size 8._

"Fate!" She cried out, then winced, reminding herself that she was not alone on the ship.

Five minutes later she stepped out into the console room, towelling her curly hair and feeling fresher. "Glad you could find something tolerable," The Doctor quipped, winking. She smiled back. "So," he continued, "Tell me everything you remember. But first, what's your name? You know me, so it's only fair."

"I'm Lucille. Human."

"Hmm," he responded, "Lucille Human. Odd name, but who am I to judge?"

"No," she huffed, "My name is Lucille and I'm human."

"Ohhh, I see. Why'd you feel the need to specify? _Well_ , I suppose you know I'm not human. _Well_ , I suppose you might not. _Well_ , I suppose I'll just let you tell me."

Lucy stopped drying her hair and tucked the towel over her shoulder. "I thought I should probably specify because you have a _sentient_ spaceship and humans don't have that kind of technology, if you even want to call it that. In fact, humans will never have that kind of technology."

"Aaand how do you know that?"

"Well I-" She paused. "I don't know, actually. That's...strange."

"Well, Lucy - mind if I call you Lucy?" The Doctor slipped his hands into his pinstriped pockets. "Just tell me what you know. I'll try to help in any way that I can."

"Okay. The last thing I remember…" She thought really hard. _Really very hard._ It shouldn't have been difficult to remember. Remembering your own life wasn't supposed to be difficult - it's just something you do. She furrowed her brow, cursing to herself. Nothing. Absolutely no tangible memories. Well, there were...Glimpses. Short bursts of things she remembered seeing, things she remembered feeling, and something else...

"Lucy?"

"Uh, right. I remember...Cold. Freezing cold, oh, the coldest I've ever been in my life. And it was wet. I don't know from what. Maybe rain? There might've been someone else, but it was so dark and I couldn't tell. So, so dark and-" She jolted upright and the towel slipped from her shoulder.

"What? What is it?" The Doctor leaned forward, either intrigued or concerned.

"I was running. I was running from something." Her breath seemed to catch in her throat. "I don't even remember what it was, but I'm so afraid." She looked to The Doctor, tears welling in her eyes. "Why am I so afraid of something I don't remember, Doctor? Why don't I remember?"

The Doctor sighed, running a hand up from the back of his head and tousling his mess of brown hair. "I don't know." His look of sympathetic despair turned to one of determination as he turned to her and said, "but we're going to figure this out. I promise you."

xxx

 **Well, that's chapter one! Please leave a review (they are so appreciated) and check back next week for chapter two!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Doctor Who.** ** _Sigh._** `

Lucy spent the next three days sleeping the time away. Her waking moments were spent with The Doctor, answering seemingly pointless questions.

"Do you ever get that little tingle in your nose like you're gonna sneeze, but then you don't?" The Doctor leaned against the console facing her, notepad and pen in hand.

"What? How is that relevant?" She squinted at him. "Are you really a doctor?"

The Doctor looked up from his notepad. "You don't know?"

"No, why would I?"

"Well, you knew my name and you knew my ship's name, so why wouldn't you?"

"I...well…" She blew a strand of hair out of her face and frowned. "Fair point."

Suddenly, The Doctor spun around and tossed the notepad over his shoulder, pulling levers and pushing buttons on the console. Lucy approached the fallen notepad and took a peek at what The Doctor had been writing. _A drawing of a stick figure in a space helmet? This guy is totally bonkers._

When the Tardis began making a loud wheezing noise, she finally asked what the hell he was doing. He paused and looked over at her with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Adventuring. Allons-y!" He yanked one more lever and the entire ship tilted, sending the two of them tumbling. The wheezing halted with a single bumping noise, and Lucy looked around, frazzled. The Doctor leapt up and swung a monitor toward him, inspecting the screen. "Huh? This isn't where I meant to go." He shrugged. "Not the first time."

"What? Where are we?" Lucy pulled herself from the floor. The Doctor, who was already at the doors, looked back at her. "Alpania. Planet of the mystics."

As she collected herself and followed him out the doors, she couldn't help but feel a growing sense of dread. _Something very,_ very _bad is coming._ Closing her eyes, she sucked in a breath and squared her shoulders, willing the thought away.

The duo walked across an open plain for fifteen minutes before reaching a thickly-wooded forest. At the entrance was a dilapidated sign that read: _Do not stray from the path under any circumstance._ Inside, the trees created a canopy of eerie darkness. "Beautiful, isn't it?" The Doctor whispered.

"Trees? I suppose."

"Not just trees." He approached what looked like a regular pine tree. "Look closer."

Lucy crept toward the tree, examining the trunk. It didn't take long for her to realize that it was _moving._ The jagged lines of bark appeared to be rippling up and down. "Wow. That's…" Enchanted, she reached out a hand to feel it, but was quickly caught by The Doctor.

"No touching. They'll suck the life force right out of you," he breathed, then dropped her hand. He was looking around cautiously, now.

"Lucy?"

"Yeah?" She whispered.

"Why are we whispering?"

She straightened, opening her mouth with the obvious intention of saying something at a regular volume.

The Doctor shook his head, holding a finger to his lips and looking to his left. She followed his gaze and saw something not so far off tunneling beneath the dirt... _toward them._ Almost as soon as she looked at it, though, it stopped.

"There's a reason this forest is completely silent." The Doctor murmured, stepping closer to her. "The forest is smart. If the forest is silent, then there's something...predacious." Whatever was under the ground began tunneling toward them again, moving slower and more deliberately than before. "Okay, Lucy." He glanced at her. "We're gonna run." Lucy made a move to do just so, but was stopped. "But not yet."

At her questioning look, he simply winked, then cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey, you! Oi! Yeah, you! Why don't you come on over here and introduce yourself?"

The Doctor's shout was jarring against the deafening silence of the woods. Immediately upon his words, the tunneling speed increased tenfold, racing and weaving toward them. Lucy backed away, horrified at both the nearing danger and The Doctor's eager look. She estimated that they had three seconds before whatever it was would be upon them, so she did what her instincts nagged at her to do. _She ran._

 _xxx_

 _Thanks for reading chapter two! Keep watch for a new chapter next week and, of course, reviews are always appreciated!_


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